This was a young, inexperienced All Blacks team that had the confidence to trust their skills, follow patterns, ignore mistakes and win big moments.

There was a certain fearlessness about the new boys. They all seemed eerily calm, particularly halfback Noah Hotham, who was brought on from the bench earlier than expected and seemed barely aware that he was playing a Test.

The same could be said of Wallace Sititi and Pasilio Tosi. Rugby at this level is largely about convincing players that they belong. That is a problem the All Blacks are unlikely to have with their next generation.

Fiji may have been generous with the space they created, both through their relatively calm line speed and their many missed tackles, but the All Blacks still had to be good enough to exploit that space.

That was usually the case. They often showed a better understanding of how to play the ball through the back door to Damian McKenzie and how to pass before contact and during play, creating multiple linebreaks through the middle of the pitch.

The game wasn’t always smooth and fluid, and there was sometimes a little too much possession given away, but there was much more certainty in how the All Blacks were trying to play.

This was the first real glimpse of the continuity game they can play if they are able to get ahead and use the constant movement of McKenzie and Beauden Barrett to keep the reins in the hands of a phalanx of willing runners who lined up everywhere to get the ball and hit the Fiji defensive line.

Anton Lienert-Brown was the man who led the way, pushing himself endlessly across the winning line and Test matches of rugby take on a whole new dimension when played with the attack against the retreating defence.

His midfield partner Billy Proctor showed the value of a central distributor. With his quick hands, sharp decision-making and high dedication to putting himself in position to facilitate the attack, his All Blacks provided a greater variety of threats when they had the ball.

However, some caution is advised, as a match against Fiji under the Californian sun is hardly representative of what the All Blacks endured against England in the Auckland winter last week, or what lies ahead in the Rugby Championship.

They don’t get as much space and they don’t come up against many teams that are as willing to keep the ball in the field and play aerobic rugby as the Fijians.

And so the most reassuring aspect of the All Blacks’ performance was once again their scrum, which despite various personnel changes appeared to have stepped up its horsepower.

It was another piece of devastating play from the All Blacks, with Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell looking like they had been sent back from the future, with non-human features that allowed them to ruthlessly destroy the Fijians.

It was aggressive and impressive and the All Blacks leave no doubt that they have a strong weapon system, regardless of which players they choose and who they play.

That’s the aspect of their game, that they can build everything around it, regardless of the opponent or the circumstances.